Photos On The Edge Of Town

I can’t decide if the 70s reminds me of Bruce Springsteen or if Bruce Springsteen reminds me of the 70s. Either way, there’s just something about the decade that gave us Born To Run that makes me smile. It was a decade of excess; concept albums from Bowie, Genesis and Pink Floyd played on the radio and the streets of New York were still gritty and more than just a little bit dangerous. I mean, come on, Al Pacino in Serpico? It doesn’t get much grittier than that. Photographer Helen Levitt was in New York in the 70s, photographing life as it was happening, on the streets. Her photographs capture an everyday life that, for us, isn’t so everyday. Her grainy, desaturated, often out of focus photographs are a stark contrast to our perfectly exposed, umpteen megapixel RAW files. But, it’s the honesty and imperfections in her work that most captivate me and make me want to grab my camera and hit the streets.